Body armor has traditionally been provided for the chest and back areas. However, other areas of the body remain exposed. For example, the shoulder regions have typically been left exposed to permit freedom of movement of the arms. Similarly, the side or lateral regions have been left exposed. Unfortunately, this has particularly been true for soldiers riding in vehicles in hostile areas. Thus, operators wearing vests that provide only front and rear protection are currently exposed to serious injury from bullets, fragmentation, and blast waves that impact their side torso region. Notably, the side torso region is a vulnerable region for a bullet that can penetrate the heart and other vital organs.
One of the difficulties in providing a ballistic vest is that for efficiency purposes a limited number of sizes and shapes of vests are typically produced—such as small, medium, large, and extra large. However, the body types of those wearing the vests vary widely. Thus, further adjustment of the settings of the vests is typically required to achieve an appropriate fit for a particular individual. The adjustment is typically accomplished through the use of shoulder straps and a cummerbund portion on the vest. Such adjustment does not significantly affect the lateral positioning of the front and rear armor used in the vest. However, it does affect the positioning of any side armor protection built into a vest as a permanent feature. Thus it causes the armor to be positioned in a less desirable position on many individuals than anticipated by the designer.
Furthermore, with any piece of protective equipment worn by an operator, there is a tradeoff between weight and protection. Ideally, the operator wants to cover the desired vital areas where protection is needed and not have to carry the weight of additional armor covering areas where protection is not needed. This is often a decision made based on the operation that the operator will be performing. For example, an operator who needs to be able to move quickly and stealthily may choose to use little body armor; while, an operator who is standing guard in an exposed position may choose to wear as much body armor as possible. Similarly, an operator riding in a vehicle may desire a significant amount of side protection on the exposed side of the vehicle so as to prevent injury from that side. However, less side protection would be needed on the other side of the operator's body since that side would be less exposed. The operator won't necessarily know which side of the vehicle he will be riding in; thus, flexibility is desirable to be able to adjust the side protection appropriately.
Similarly, an operator may desire side armor protection closer to the front of the body in some situations and closer to the back of the body in other situations. Moreover, the operator may want side armor protection higher or lower on the lateral torso region for a given situation.
Vests also provide the ability to carry additional equipment such as pouches, communication equipment, medical equipment, and water. However, there is a limited amount of surface area for carrying this equipment. The area of the vest at the front and sides usually provides the best point of attachment from the user's perspective, as it allows the user to view and grasp the equipment when needed. Thus, one previous downside to attaching a piece of equipment to the side of the vest was that it used up that area of the vest for attaching other pieces of equipment.
Thus, there is a need for a system that provides side armor protection for a user—preferably for a system that overcomes drawback(s) noted above.